4. Corralling Cam

Carolina quarterback Cam Newton is 2-1 all-time against the Lions, with his only loss coming during his rookie season in 2011.

In the two victories since, Newton is 48-of-67 passing (71.6 percent) for 636 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Newton was sacked seven times in those two games, though, a trend that the Lions should continue in making his life as difficult as possible.

5. Fun and fantasy

Teams getting ready for a short Thanksgiving week have been taking care of business lately.

The 18 teams that have played on Thanksgiving day in the last three years have went 14-4 outright in their previous games, and 15-2-1 against the spread. The Lions (gasp!) could be a nice bet this week, especially as underdogs by more than a field goal.

In addition, the Panthers have the second-worst red zone defense in the league, meaning Kenny Golladay could be a good fantasy play, though Marvin Jones is out.